Molecular Female

Molecular Female is a virtual exhibition that explores the history of the search for plants used in the development and production of synthetic hormones. Released initially by El Museo of Buffalo NY where the show also had a physical presence through the month of October.

Exhibition Blurb from El Museo's website:
"The title of Rian Ciela Hammond’s virtual exhibition, Molecular Female, refers to steroid hormones—such as estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone—that are commonly used for birth control and hormone therapies. In particular, the exhibition explores a lesser-known history: in the mid-twentieth century, American scientists, funded by government and pharmaceutical interests, scoured the world to find plants that could be used in the development and production of synthetic hormones. Taking images from these expeditions as a starting point, Hammond traces their global reach, questions the romanticism of these “discoveries,” and shows that narratives of scientific progress are inevitably intertwined with the long history of colonialism and empire."